The photo sparked a heated debate online, with some saying it was all in good fun while others said he went too far.

Feely later tweeted that the photo was intended to be a joke and that he takes gun safety seriously. The gun wasn’t loaded and didn’t have a clip in it, he said.

The prom picture I posted was obviously intended to be a joke. My Daughter has dated her boyfriend for over a year and they knew I was joking.I take gun safety seriously (the gun was not loaded and had no clip in) and I did not intend to be insensitive to that important issue